A former Riverina man has been sentenced to at least 12 months behind bars for his role in a tri-state drug trafficking operation.
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Steven Bruce Congdon, 26, was arrested in Adelaide during a sting by SA Police as their NSW counterparts conducted their own raids across the border.
Congdon, from Hay, was among six people arrested in Adelaide at the same time as a light plane loaded with drugs was intercepted in Deniliquin and three properties in Hay were subjected to search warrants by NSW Police.
The NSW leg of the sting allegedly netted 45 kilograms of cannabis and four kilograms of controlled precursor drug capable of making up to two kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of $2 million.
Congdon was residing in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth at the time of his arrest.
During a court appearance on Remembrance Day, Congdon pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered sawn-off .22-calibre rifle and two counts of trafficking amphetamines in offences occurring in Elizabeth over two months from July last year.
He was sentenced in Adelaide’s District Court on Wednesday.
The Adelaide Advertiser reports the court heard Congdon sold illegal goods hidden in a pasta box to covert police.
In handing down his sentence, Judge Gordon Barrett said Congdon sold an undercover officer more than 500 tablets worth $2800 in two separate transactions.
The former Scout and soldier will spend at least 12 months of a sentence of two years and three months in jail, backdated to his arrest on September 3.
“You succumbed to the temptation to make money by drug dealing,” the Adelaide Advertiser reports Judge Barrett as commenting.
“You come from a stable background and your prospects of staying out of trouble in the future are reasonably good.
“On the other hand, this is serious offending undertaken for purely financial reasons.”
Five of Congdon’s alleged co-accused have denied charges. They will stand trial at a later date.